Sleepwalking Scene of William Shakespeare's Macbeth

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Sleepwalking Scene of William Shakespeare's Macbeth

The sleepwalking scene reveals Lady Macbeth’s state of mind after the

murder of Duncan, Banquo and Lady Macduff.

In the beginning of the scene, the doctor doubted about Lady Macbeth

sleepwalking. He is saying he “perceive no truth “ about what the

gentlewoman said. He is exasperated at first. He said “I have two

night watched with you” and it seems nothing strange has happened to

Lady Macbeth. Then, he was analysing sensibly about sleepwalking.

However, his emotions change dramatically when he saw Lady Macbeth

holding a candle with her. He was shocked. After that, he listened to

Lady Macbeth saying about the old man “to have so much blood” and saw

her rubbing her hand, he feels more nervous and this is the changing

point which the doctor is shocked and amazed by what he saw and heard.

He saw Lady Macbeth came by a light with her eyes open but “sense are

shut”.

Shakespeare draws audiences’ attentions to Lady Macbeth carrying a

light by the doctor’s speech. Doctor says “How came she by that

light?” to draw audiences’ attention. Shakespeare uses this to

emphasise that Lady Macbeth is afraid of the dark because she called

on evil to possess on her: “unsex me here, And fill me, from the crown

to the toe, top full Of direct cruelty!”

Lady Macbeth’s first action was rubbing her hands and this echoes the

scene that she put the daggers back after Duncan’s murder and her

hands are full of blood. She tries to wash the blood off but she says,

“the perfume of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.” Shakespeare

uses the blood as a symbol of her guilty conscience that she can never

forget what she has done. Apart from that, Shakespeare presents Lady

Macbeth as very childish when she says, “Thane of Fife had a wife”.

Her childish language shows vulnerability. Moreover, she was trying to

wash off the blood from her “little hand”. She sounds childish because

she has lost her sensibility that an adult has.

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